Why Holistic Management®

For over 30 years farmers, ranchers, and pastoralists have used Holistic Management to improve the land, grow nutritious food, and play a vital role in their local communities. What makes Holistic Management such a successful resource management tool?

Holistic Management is a value-based decision-making framework that integrates all aspects of planning for social, economic, and environmental considerations. From farmers in New York, ranchers in Texas, and pastoralists in Kenya—we have trained over 50,000 people in over 130 countries. This key regenerative agriculture tool is also known as Whole Farm/Ranch Planning—a tool recognized by the USDA as a critical tool to help farmers and ranchers develop successful businesses as well as improve land health so they can continue to support their communities with quality food.

Benefits of Holistic Management®

Holistic Management increases water infiltration & retention of moisture in the soil by as much as 800%.

Holistic Management producers have been able to increase organic matter by as much as 300%, bringing more carbon out of the atmosphere and into the soil to feed life.

Holistic Management producers create more food and fiber from the sun’s energy by increasing land productivity.

Holistic Management producers have improved wildlife habitat and increased ground cover by as much as 100%, healing the environment and reducing erosion.

The 15-minute slide show below uses dramatic photographic evidence to demonstrate the results farmers and ranchers from around the world have achieved by using this adaptive management tool. Go to our Regenerative Solution page to learn more about how Holistic Management is a Regenerative Agriculture Solution.

How Does It Work and Are There Risks?

Every farm and ranch is unique. With Holistic Management the farmer or rancher can manage that uniqueness effectively to improve the land and learn how to minimize risk while looking at the resources they can utilize to their advantage. People who have begun to use Holistic Management say the biggest challenge is that you may have to change production practices you’ve used for years and the learning curve is challenging for some people. They also say that the results were more than they could have imagined and they were glad they changed their practices.

Holistic Management Basics

In Holistic Management there are 2 key principles and 6 key practices. Our training programs to help people learn how to effectively understand and change behavior to incorporate these practices consistently to reap the rewards that come from managing holistically.